not to brag, but I have a gold mine in my back yard...
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A good rooster will give his life for his hens. A good rooster, will sleep next to the door inside the coop and be the first in line in case an intruder enters. A bad rooster will hide up in the back and let the hens be taken first.
Good roosters won't go into the coop until all the hens are inside and accounted for. A bad rooster will just go in, oblivious to anyone but himself.
I usually keep 2 roosters, that are brothers, from the same batch of chicks. Otherwise, introducing 2 roosters into the same flock can cause a fight-to-the-death fight between the roosters as they fight for dominance. I like having 2 so one can be a spare, in case one is injured or dies. If they grew up together, they are less likely to fight.
My hens are broody and often have chicks, so I have plenty of roosters to choose for my flock. I choose the best roosters by observing their behavior. I look for those that cock-a-doodle-doo when they find a food source, telling the hens there is food available. A bad rooster will just try to take all the food for himself. I see how they react when there's danger nearby (cat nearing the fence, hawk in the air) do they even notice, and do they warn the others? Do they get along with the hens or are they preventing some from getting food, thus alienating/shunning them?
A rooster will have one hen that is his favorite. She will hang around him, but that may make her unlikable by the other hens. If the rooster dies, she will be left out, will probably spend the rest of her days pecking alone, may even be afraid to roost with the others in the coop.
A flock will have the matron hen, the bossy, loud one. If there's no rooster in the flock, she will act rooster-ish and may even attempt to cock-a-doodle-doo in the morning or when there's danger. She runs the roost, top of the pecking order, for sure. So a flock doesn't absolutely need a rooster, but for safety of the flock, and growth of the flock (incubated eggs), they are a treasure. Just important to have a good rooster. A mean one, well, they become dog food at our place.
This is very interesting. I especially like your observance of the good rooster and bad rooster. It's quite like watching people.
My rooster gives the hens the blueberries and food before he eats. He shows them the good food and keep everything in line. I have his son, who is out of a EE and they do not fight at all. He watches his subunits and the newer flock. The main rooster had his fave but he loves them all.
The loudest is Freya but Queenie is the boss. Freya is my starlight green egger and she’s nosey af lol. Plus she willl pull a Houdini from time to time but nowadays they all stay in their run which is a 50 x 80. That’s Hooked up to to a 10x10 fully covered pen that they roost at night.
I have one Rudy hen right now and she’s an Orpington. I took two eggs from each hen and she hatched them all so it’s very unique to see the different colors.
I have Easter Eggers, Orpington‘s, Rhode Island red, olive Eggers and a australorp. The rooster is a barred rock. The two sets that hatched are all mixed with the bard rocks with the exception of all of Eggers and the Rhode Island because they’re not ready to lay eggs yet.
His son is ad of Queenie and he looks like a Moran. He’s got beautiful green tail feathers, but his crest is like flames. I’ll post a picture.
Love the names you gave them. We had one that would run up to my son to get her petting everyday. He named her lovey dovey.
There is Misty (now Momma Chi), Lilly, tulip, Thor, Conrad, Nepthis, Queenie, Daisy, Ruby, Saphira, Jade, Boot, and Bonnet.
I have to name the three white crosses and the hen who looks like her daddy.
The 16 chicks I haven’t even started to name.
👍🙂 😂Thor, love it.
A wealth of knowledge...thank you!
Looks like I had a good rooster. Thanks for the great information!